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Wasps

In New Zealand we have four types of social wasps which have been accidently introduced. These social wasps are classed as major pests unlike our native varieties which have never become a nuisance.

Introduced Social Wasps:

German Wasp

Common Wasp

Australian Paper Wasp

Asian Paper Wasp

New Zealand has some of the highest densities of social wasps in the world, there are very few natural predators here and our winters are mild and food is plentiful making our country the perfect place for wasps to flourish.

If you have a wasp nest or nests around your home or workplace, you need them gone, here’s why it’s important:

A single wasp sting to most of us is very painful and may cause discomfort for a few days, but for the 10% of people who are allergic, a sting can become life threatening if not treated quickly.

If you get too close to a wasp nest or even worse disturb it, wasps will attack and multiple stings are a serious and sometimes life threatening situation, even for those without an allergy to their sting.

Wasp swam attacks happen, there are many cases here in NZ where wasp swam attacks have taken place, take a look at a these articles here, here and here.

Wasps are a threat to our environment

They are a major problem in some beech forests where they consume massive amounts of honeydew. Honeydew is produced by a native scale insect and is an important food for native birds, bats, insects and lizards.

Wasps eat huge amounts of native insects and are upsetting the natural food chain in the forest.

They have been seen eating newly hatched birds.

They wipe out entire bee hives.

Wasp Nest Eradication

WARNING: If you are not confident about destroying the nest or you think you are allergic to wasps please don’t proceed with treating the nest yourself. DIY treatments are also not recommended if nests are not easily accessible or if they are large, for your safety they’re best left to the professionals.

If you think there is a nest in your section the best way to locate it is to observe the worker wasps flight path during the day. The main places you will find German and common wasp nests are in the ground, in tree hollows, under your house or in the roof space. Paper wasps nests are likely to be located hanging from a nest stalk from vegetation, fences or the eaves of your home.

When the nest is located assess it from a safe distance, consider the size of the nest, accessibility and your confidence in destroying it before you do anything.